It is everyone's first time living. We don't know what to do, or how to do it. We are just thrown into life, without any true guide, to discover and make decisions that would shape whether this journey is pleasant or not. Although every part of life is hard and important; there is one that is especially difficult. Would you guess which one? It is our teens. This era is marked by a major change; we pass from being kids to being adults.In this moment of life we are required to make some decisions which in the future would shape who we are. Some of them like choosing our beliefs, our career, our friends, or the person we want to be. Making these types of choices will seem daunting. Therefore, we often wish to have some kind of instruction on how to go through life.

 

Thankfully, although there isn't a manual on how to survive existence—or else I would be purchasing it—there is a genre that pretty much does the same. This literary and film genre is called coming of age. As its name suggests, the stories that make up this genre narrate the journey of characters that are passing from childhood into adulthood. Each of them has a different experience and story; however, in its narrative there is common ground that makes these stories so majestic.The scenarios that are being recounted unlike in other tales are nothing out of this world. They explore the simple pleasures of life.The characters have nothing special, not super powers, no incredible anecdote, nor a tragic sad story. They are just human beings learning to live. This is what makes this genre so fascinating. The life of the people is boring; therefore the story is boring, unless you feel connected to his, or her experience.In which case this genre will produce an amazing sense of hope and nostalgia in its viewer.

 

Taking that into account, the structure of these narratives must contain something normal to which people can relate. This being the life problem, it could be pressure, expectations, abandonment, popularity, and more. Through the difficulty, the viewer would find sympathy for the character whose only problem is getting through. To make it clearer, I am going to explain it through a movie called Ladybird (which if you haven't watched I encourage you to do so).It narrates the story of a seventeen-year-old, who wants to obtain a spot on a liberal arts college in order to leave behind her life in the suburbs.Her problem is the fact that she wants to leave Sacramento to build her own identity, but she has lots of obstacles.
 

In order to overcome those obstacles, she decides to deny her background.Searching for a solution which is clearly wrong, but it is the least painful.She changes friends, lies about where she lives, her economic situation, and tries to hunt for some external validation. During the look for that approval, she realises that her family, home, and original friends were more than enough. Ladybird begins to build an identity from her heritage and gratitude, learning that building a future does not mean that you must deny your past. At that moment, we find another key event that must happen in every coming of age story: The solution of acceptance. At this point, the character realises that avoiding the actual remedy will not help. It is necessary to flail inwards with the purpose of finding out that the world will not change; however, the attitude of the character towards it may.

 

With this said, a coming of age story doesn't narrate a fantastic event. It rather portrays a common life tale that any of us could have. The blandness of that character's life is where the magic of this genre occurs.  We don't have an uncommon history either, therefore those situationships that the protagonist encounters are reliable. It is human to have an issue, to resolve it wrongly, and to find out that the only way to solve it is by changing your perspective. It is everyone's first time living, and by hearing of these narratives we remind ourselves of that. As in everything that you start from scratch, it is trial and error. There is no way to succeed in life if you don´t mess up on the path.